I just bought a head unit of my buddy for my winter beater (k car)... I wired it up really quick to see if it worked.... It worked, but when i turned my headlights on, the deck shut off? Than i turn them off and it comes back on?

Also, on my panasonic deck in my ROC, it has an antenna wire, and a remote wire.. This Kenwood deck has a blue wire that says REMOTE/ANTENNA.... Does Kenwood only have 1 remote wire for both? Or is this deck missing a remote wire? Thanks alot...

 

Did you hook up the new deck properly? Do you still have the factory wiring harness in the car? If so...did you buy an adapter to install the deck?

*MOST* decks only have one remote/antenna wire. You can usually wire up both to the same wire on the deck. I wouldn't wire much else to that remote lead without another relay though. Too much power connected to it might cause a short in the car.

I'm not really sure what the symptoms you describe would be caused by...unless when you turn on the lights it's grounding out something improperly. Your deck really only needs 3 wires to work correctly (from a power standpoint...not sound).

1. Power Lead
2. Remote Power Lead
3. Ground

If you've got all 3 hooked up properly....you shouldn't have a problem. If you don't have the factory clip...go pick up a test light (if you don't already have one that is) and test the wires to find the 3 listed above.

The power lead should ALWAYS have power. Test all the wires with the key in the off position and see what you find. There should only be one live wire...that's your power lead.

Turn on the ignition so the accessories all come on and test the rest of the wires. You should now have an additional "hot" wire. This *should* be your remote power lead. Make sure you double-check your power lead as well. If it's no longer "hot" then you might have a short somewhere.

That's about all the adivse I can offer for the moment....hope it helps!

 

Hey thanks alot man...
I found out why the deck was turning off when i turned the lights on... I hooked the ground up to the illumination... When the lights are off, this acts as a ground but when the lights are on the wire turns positive and cuts the deck out.. In this stupid k car, there is no ground... Well there is some kinda ground.... Its not normal tho... It looks like a little strap... Sorta a shoelace... The deck that was in it before had a place to screw this strap to and than it went to the ground wire on the deck.... Its really stupid... And i dont see how this strap type thing can be a ground..? Why cant they just have the normal BLACK ground wire... Instead they use a shoelace... LMAO! I'll figure it out tomorrow.. Thanks tho man..

 

If you need a good ground...there is one right behind the radio....it's called the firewall ;-) hehehe Drill a hole and slap a ring end connector on the end of the radio ground. Screw it down....and blast the tunes ;-)

There are usually some braces under the dash too ( I have yet to rip apart the radio console on the Camaro, but I'm speaking from experience with other cars/trucks I've worked in ;-)

My Isuzu Amigo had a boomin system in it....too bad it only went @ 50 mph on the highway! hehehe